As December windings down the staff at Portland Catering Company is reflecting on the month. We catered countless holiday parties and holiday luncheons, on top of our everyday corporate orders. Here are some highlights of the last month of 2010 for us.

We started off December with a wonderful year-ending celebration for area networking groups at The Gala held at the Governor Hotel. It was a great time during the wedding off-season for area vendors in the industry to reflect on the year, have a good time, and most importantly raise money for two local charities: Potluck in the Park and Wish Upon a Wedding Portland.

As we headed into the second week of December we prepared ourselves for the busiest week of the year. We successfully fed hundreds of people working long hours to do so. In the end it was so rewarding to see how happy the clients were and to be a part of each special event. We catered private holiday parties, company office luncheons, full service corporate parties, and even a few breakfasts!

The beginning of the month was also busy as we had the opportunity to help out Winfield Village Senior Living Community in Wilsonville, feeding their residents while their kitchen was going through a remodel. We catered breakfast, lunch and dinner for the 95 residents for a little over a week, making sure they had full bellies during the holiday season.

One of the last big events we had for the month was the celebration of Katie and Pete Lance's wedding reception held at the Northstar Ballroom in North Portland. It was a truly beautiful reception unique to the couple's personality with a potluck dessert bar, lots of festive greenery in place of floral, plenty of candle lighting and even a special moment where Pete sang a song to Katie. Their guests were truly a joy to serve and to spend the evening with. I couldn't have imagined a better couple to finish off our 2010 wedding season with. Katie and Peter are a perfect example of two people in love and beginning their journey together as husband and wife. Congrats and best wishes!

Indulge yourself and your guests, picture this at your event.

This last week was a busy one here at Portland Catering Company. With a week full of corporate box lunches to get out and two weddings, we still somehow managed to squeeze in a few non-profit events that proved to be a really good time.

A Taste of Portland; Thursday, September 16th

Last Thursday Katie, Stephanie and our executive chef Shawn McCoy headed out to The Oregon Golf Club to be a part of the third annual "A Taste of Portland" hosted by Oregon Association of REALTORS® HOME Foundation. Our booth was sponsored by Thrive, check them out here: http://thriveportland.com/. It was a great night full of yummy food, great people and a ton of fun auction items. All of the food was donated by Portland area restaurants and caterers, local businesses were the sponsors of all of the booths and auction items. Check out The OAR Home Foundation here: http://www.oregonrealtors.org/About_OAR/Home_Foundation/

Portland Catering Company served up three of our favorites. First up was our tasty treat the chocolate dipped cannoli. Owner Eric Poirier and his secret cannoli cream recipe was brought all the way over here from Boston. Next up was our famous parmesan cheese crisp. Due to popular demand we brought back our cheese on cheese favorite. Lastly we had our surf and turf specialty; bacon wrapped scallops. We lightly bread a plump juicy scallop then tightly wrap it in a generous slice of bacon. Stick a frill pick in it and you have a heaven on a stick.

Thank you Oregon Association of REALTORS® HOME Foundation, Thrive and The Oregon Golf Club for allowing us the privilege to be a part of this event and such a great cause.

Hops and Harleys for Hope; Saturday, September 18th

Andy Boone the Executive Director of the Muscular Dystrophy Association called us early last week in a panic. He didn't have any servers to help with their big fundraiser! Portland Catering Company to the rescue! The girls of the office pulled together to help out. With Chef Shawn in the kitchen, each of our office girls was assigned a local Harley Davidson Dealership. Adria was at the Vancouver sight, Katie put up shop at the Tigard location and Stephanie took shelter at the Gladstone dealership.

Our chef Shawn McCoy grilled up some Johnsonville brats (Thanks Johnsonville for the generous donation of 600 brats!!!) and the girls loaded up and set out to their respective location.

Hops and Harleys for Hope was organized to raise money for local Muscular Dystrophy Association families (check out MDA here: http://www.mda.org/) The idea was to have local Harley Davidson enthusiasts meet up at their local dealership, have a tasty lunch, then ride together to Mt. Angel Oktoberfest to celebrate the season and to help raise money to help local kids affected by neuromuscular diseases.

The rain kept some at bay, but we still think we had a good turnout. Stephanie at the Gladstone dealership reported serving 150 of her 200 brats. The other dealerships didn't have as good of luck but we all had a good time.

Thank you MDS for giving us the opportunity to get out of the office and serve our community! Thank you to all three Harley Davidson Dealerships for hosting us. Finally thank you Johnsonville for donating all of the brats that we cooked up!

Additional "thanks" go to: Franz for donating the hoagie buns the brats were served on. Steinfeld's Sauerkraut, what's a brat without the kraut? Western Family for all of the paper products and beverages. Frito Lay for the abundance of yummy chips. Thriftway for the generous support and getting key partners involved.

As we pack up our BBQs and start to pull out our rain boots it's a sure sign that fall is creeping up on us very quickly. We've been working hard in our kitchen putting together a fall menu full of Northwest favorites and veggies grown in our backyard. Here is a taste of what we'll be serving this autumn.

On those cold days when all you want to do is curl up on the couch with your Snuggie how about some Pumpkin Bisque to warm you up; a blend of seasonal spices, onions, sherry, and garlic combined with pumpkin puree, served with warm rolls and butter. Just the thought of this tasty treat is warming me up.

If fall is in the air so are footballs. Whether you're a Duck or a Beaver, nothing says tailgate better than mini twice backed potatoes. Our mini potato skins are stuffed full with a mixture of pepper bacon, Tillamook cheddar cheese and chives. The Civil War is December 4, so plan ahead and call in your order today!

As we get closer to the holidays there's not a lot better than home cooked food from my grandma's kitchen. We're bringing back a family favorite with beef stroganoff. Beef medallions in a creamy sauce piled high on top of egg noodles. Just thinking about it brings me back to grandma's house.

It seems like life never slows down, fall brings; holiday parties, shopping, soccer practice, choir performances, family get-togethers, busy work days and endless school functions. Your day is full to the brim of to-do lists that would make even a super hero cringe. If you're in need of a little mid-day pick-me-up you have got to try our newest dessert bar. A huge marshmallow crispy treat topped with chocolate covered espresso bean frosting. The perfect little pick-me-up at that two o'clock hour that always seems to find you dragging.

Call us at 503-620-8855 or
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with any questions or orders.

Thank you to all of our clients for making this year's BBQ season a great success!! We greatly appreciated your business and love to hear all the great reviews you've had of our food, chefs and staff. BBQs are some of our favorite events! Until next summer... Happy Grillin'

Portland Catering would like to thank Washington County for recognition for the "Recycle at Work" award we received last month. Amongst the required conditions a business must follow to be considered for the award we pledged to also:

Turn off lights, computers and heat/AC at night.

Donate excess food through Fork It Over! To the Portland Rescues Mission and Clackamas County Women's Shelter

Lighting: Change our regular light bulbs for CFs. Use only skylight illumination in kitchen when adequate.

We have always valued environmentally conscious activities in all aspects of our business. The process of achieving the Washington County Recycle at Work Business Award has helped us realize our environmental values and has encouraged us to be persistent in always finding new ways to improve.

Please feel free to contact us or Washington County (http://www.co.washington.or.us/HHS/SWR/Recycling/AtWork/recycle-at-work.cfm) to learn more about getting your Washington County business recognized!

What's happening this summer? An exciting menu crafted by our new executive chef Shawn McCoy. In this menu we have incorporated wonderful local ingredients from the Northwest and feature many new options such as: premium boxed lunches, flat bread pizzas, fresh seasonal salads, new hot entrées using Cous Cous and prawns, and new summer beverages which we hope will be a great hit!

Our premium boxed lunches feature your choice of an Oregon Bay Shrimp salad sandwich or a Grilled Flank Steak sandwich. Uniquely crafted with gourmet flavors, these sandwiches will wow your employees and clients. In addition to the pasta salad and jumbo cookie, premium boxed lunches also come with a side of fresh fruit.

You can find the summer menu on the right side of our homepage or email Katie or Adria for a copy. Please don't hesitate to contact us with questions or even better orders for your next lunch!

We are excited to introduce our 2010 Spring Menu! Filled with fresh fruits and light entrees, it is sure to help you welcome in the spring weather we've all been waiting for here in Portland. Spinach Salad, Halibut with Puttanesca Sauce, Quinoa, Blueberry Pie and Strawberry Shortcake! Yum, Yum!

Find a link to it on the right side of our homepage or request a PDF copy to be emailed to you.

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NEW at Portland Catering Company: Corn Resin Forks and Knives. Want to reduce plastic waste? Biodegradable silverware- just add $.25pp and help lessen our burden on the planet! Manufactured from corn starch, a renewable resource, PLA plastics biodegradable into mostly carbon dioxide and water and are compostable in 6-12 months. Since the resin does not contain BPA, like plastic, it will not leech chemicals into food, drinks or the soil.

As always, our plates and bowls are biodegradable.

"The resin, known as polylactic acid (PLA), has several things going for it. It's made from a renewable resource, which means it has a big leg up—both politically and environmentally—on conventional plastic packaging, which uses an estimated 200,000 barrels of oil a day in the United States. Also, PLA is in principle compostable, meaning that it will break down under certain conditions into harmless natural compounds. That could take pressure off the nation's mounting landfills, since plastics already take up 25 percent of dumps by volume."